The business part of healthcare is not discussed very openly very often. However, it is an important part of healthcare. It is what pays your bills and keeps you alive and healthy as well. It is the same as advertising and operations: vital parts of the business that allow for you and your employees to continue to offer their much-needed services.
Therefore, business-focused healthcare providers created the term “patient lifetime value.” It is basically the product of the projected amount of time a patient will be with your practice, how many appointments they will go to, and how much those appointments cost. This projected number is important for practices so that they understand the return on investment of marketing and how they should plan to spend going forward.
That said, there are multiple ways to increase patient lifetime value. It all starts with the answering service. By adjusting your answering service, you can aim to make and keep more appointments, to keep your current patients happy so that they continue making appointments, and be prepared to take on new patients anytime.
Making and Keeping Appointments
First of all, your current patients need to be making appointments. So, by having an answering service that picks up on the first ring every time, you capture all appointments. On Call Central is automated and can take multiple calls at once, so you are not letting any calls slip through the cracks during the busy Monday morning rush. The program runs constantly, 24/7/365, and ensures that the patient will be answered in a timely fashion. On Call Central ensures that by creating recurring notifications for the doctor on call and documenting the status of responses in the On Call Central app and web interface.
Secondly, you do not get paid unless the patients show up. With all the time saved where receptionists or physicians would be answering phones for minor issues, there is more time to see patients, keep them from waiting, and do other things to improve patient lifetime value, like making follow up calls, emails, or messages to remind patients of appointments.
Keeping Customers Happy
One of the most valuable features of On Call Central is the on-call function, where your practice can set physicians to be on-call all night long. This keeps customers happy because they know you are reliable and that they can call your practice anytime they need. The program will send scaling notifications to make sure the physician on-call sees the previous call or message. The notifications will continue until the on-call provider responds. One physician a week could lose an hour or two of sleep, but compare that to the amount of money earned when that customer decides to stay with your practice a few more years. It certainly adds up.
Be Ready for New Patients Anytime
Just like the patients who could call you late at night, other potential patients will be calling around if they want to make an urgent appointment or simply want to make on to ease their minds. When their practice does not pick up, they are going to start calling around. You want to be ready to pick up when they are calling and give them peace of mind and a sense of security with your practice. So when a phone picks up the ring on the first call, hears a clear, personalized voice tone, and an option to leave an urgent message for the physician on-call, they will feel heard and be comforted by the fact that their message will be heard too. And when the physician answers or calls back a few minutes later, you will have likely acquired a new patient.
Increasing Patient Lifetime Value in Your Practice
Increasing patient lifetime value in your practice can be easy. With On Call Central’s own 24/7/365 support availability, free and personal demonstration, built-in scheduling program, all the mentioned features and more, the solution is at your fingertips. And with our flat-rate pricing system, it can pay for itself. Be ready to make appointments for everyone and be ready to make more with On Call Central.
Learn how to achieve the best outcomes and earn the highest patient satisfaction and the many ways On Call Central can help your practice. Get a free demonstration led by one of our helpful On Call Central team members and/or free quote to see how the leading fully automated medical answering service can work for your practice.